Originally Published EMDM January/February 2002
SPECIAL REPORT
Increasing Functionality on the Surface
|
Return
to Article: |
Surface coatings have long been used on minimally invasive devices, but the role of these value-added elements is undergoing a significant shift. Originally, surface coatings were used to render an object inert to the body. Instead of improving performance, these products simply had to limit the amount of collateral damage incurred during a procedure. According to industry experts, however, this is no longer the case. "In the past, surface coatings for these kinds of devices were used as simple solutions to a specific problem," explains Amy Novak, director of haemocompatibility for Surmodics (Eden Prairie, MN, USA). "Today, the coatings tend to be complex systems that add to the overall functionality of the tool."
The PhotoLink coating from Surmodics is an example of this new kind of surface coating. Used on endoscopes, catheters, guidewires, and other surgical devices, the coating not only contains a small amount of heparin to prevent clot formation on the device surface, but it also incorporates another substance that increases lubricity.
Susan Stalls of STS Biopolymers Inc. (Henrietta, NY, USA) agrees about the changing role of surface coatings. "Coatings today are allowing a variety of new procedures to be performed that would be impossible without them," she says. Stalls cites her company's Echo-Coat coating, a product that permits physicians to perform certain biopsy procedures in real time using ultrasound technology. "Uncoated biopsy needles are almost invisible to ultrasound, a characteristic that makes it difficult for a doctor to judge their position relative to a tumor," says Stalls. "This product uses a microporous structure that reflects ultrasound to overcome this problem, no matter what the needle angle." The result is a coated device that allows biopsy procedures to be performed in fewer passes, decreasing procedure time, cost, and patient discomfort.
Copyright ©2002 European Medical Device Manufacturer
